Hide Me
by Josie Lange
Summary: Lhiannon Amell arrives at Kinloch Hold after her abilities manifest, scared and alone. Then she meets the young man who will become a lifelong friend. Companion to "Rend Asunder" Chapter 19. "M" for some violence.


_An excerpt from Rend Asunder, Chapter 19: A Dawning Horror_

_As he reached a landing at the top of the stairs, Loghain saw a male mage casting fire spells at a group of darkspawn that had attempted to surround him. Several dead bodies lay around the mage, still sending up tendrils of acrid smoke. Loghain dispatched the remaining darkspawn on the landing and turned to regard the mage and the devastation around him. Loghain noticed that one of the bodies burning next to the mage was not a darkspawn, but a templar. His brow raised in questioning as he looked up at the mage. The mage had followed Loghain's stare and quickly turned to regard him._

_"I didn't do it," the mage sputtered, holding up his hands in supplication and nervously watching the heavily armored Loghain and his bloodied sword. "Though he did make an amusing little gurgling sound when he died." He paused, looking at Loghain warily. "You're not a templar, are you?"_

_"I don't remember accusing you of any such thing. And I'm hardly a templar," Loghain commented, lowering his sword but keeping it ready in case he needed it. He heard footsteps pounding up the stairs behind him and turned to see Lhiannon and Mhairi come through the doorway, their swords dripping dark ichor. Lhiannon came up next to Loghain and looked at the mage, her eyes going wide. The mage's eyes went from Loghain to Lhiannon and also went wide._

_"Lhi?" he asked in disbelief._

_"Andy?"_

_"You know him?" Loghain asked cautiously, turning to Lhiannon. Her face held an astonished look on it._

_"Yes, I do know him. Quite well, in fact. We both studied magic at Kinloch Hold. This is Anders." Lhiannon turned to Anders, introducing him to both Loghain and Mhairi. Anders bowed his head in greeting. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance."_

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_

Lhiannon Amell was never so happy to see such an imposing building in all her young life, even if the nasty templar beside her would not utter its name. "Such a building is an affront to the Maker and deserves no recognition," he scowled, yanking cruelly on the length of rope that tightly bound Lhiannon's hands in front of her. She stumbled and nearly fell, again, scrambling to keep on her feet lest the templar give her another black eye. He had already given her one on the very first day they had left her village; he told her that she should pray to the Maker for forgiveness and death over her malevolent power. When she snarled that perhaps he was the one who should ask for forgiveness for being such a grouch, he backhanded her with an armored fist.

That had not been the first of her injuries or the brutal treatment she received since her magical abilities manifested three days ago. Her father has beaten her with a whip for not memorizing her daily lessons from the Chant of Light. During that beating, her abilities manifested; she begged for him to stop beating her and for the burning pain of his whip to stop. And it _did _stop-when her father was frozen in place. He thawed, immediately dragging her to the chantry and the templars. The rough gravel tore at her clothing as he dragged her, gouging her skin and causing small pieces of dirt and grit to embed themselves in her flesh. Throwing Lhiannon at a scowling templar's feet, her father spat on her, denying her as his child.

The templar grabbed Lhiannon by the wrist, jerking her toward the stables outside. She had been crying, confused and terrified at what was happening to her, her world as she knew it spiraling out of control. The templar suddenly slapped her, silencing her cries with the shock of the strike. "Silence yourself, abhorrence of the Maker," he snarled, glaring into her eyes for the first and last time. "Be silent, or I shall gag you for the journey."

Lhiannon sniffled as the templar pulled a length of rope off the wall, quickly binding her hands in front of her. The rope dug into her skin, immediately chafing and sending a burning sensation through her arms. "Where are you taking me?" she whispered, afraid to anger him further.

He jerked the end of the rope he held, yanking her forward as he climbed into the saddle of his horse. He tied the end of the rope to the pommel and kicked the horse forward, the motion yanking Lhiannon forward and nearly off her feet. She hissed in protest, but had little choice other than to follow. "You are going to where others of your kind are sent; you _should_ go to your death, purified in the holy flame."

The journey to the Circle took three agonizing days. In that time, Lhiannon had frozen at night as the templar had not bothered to give her a bedroll or blanket. Her only meal during the journey was a scrap of bread and a piece of overly salty jerky the templar had tossed to her like a dog. She had stumbled numerous times in her exhaustion from walking next to the templar's horse, falling and being dragged for a distance before the templar brought his horse to a stop. By the time they had arrived at the small outpost on the shores of Lake Calenhad, Lhiannon's feet were covered in blisters and her wrists rubbed raw from the ropes binding her hands. Her clothes were tattered and dirty, showing various expanses of her skin, the bruises and cuts plainly evident.

The equally surly templar that met them at the docks scowled at Lhiannon as she was pulled onto the small boat that would carry her and the templars to the tower. He put his heavy, armored hand onto Lhiannon's shoulder and roughly forced her to the seat, laughing as she stumbled and nearly pitched overboard. Lhiannon glared up at him, snarling with rage as she spat into his face. Bright stars exploded in her vision as his armored hand cracked across her face, breaking the skin open on her cheek; she felt the hot blood running down her face to drip off her chin.

She had always found templars to be surly and intimidating while growing up in her strict village; now, she found that she hated them and their pompous ways. The templars looked at her like she was less than human, like something that would transform into a screeching abomination at any moment. Never before had she felt so completely, utterly alone. She lost her family, her home, and her freedom. If the templars had their way, she would lose her dignity and her life as well.

The small boat arrived in the bowels of the tower after the short journey across the lake. A woman was standing at the docks, dressed in the colorful robes mages often wore. Lhiannon thought she had a kind, motherly look about her. She was tall and thin, with dark hair she kept swept into a bun at the back of her head. The templars shoved Lhiannon out of the boat and onto the deck, growling as she stumbled and fell. The mage scowled at the templars when she saw that the young girl's hands were bound in front of her, her body and clothing dirty and battered.

"Well, aren't you both the brave templars?" the mage snarled, helping Lhiannon to her feet and untying the ropes that held her wrists together. Blood began to flow back into her hands; she tried to move her wrists and grimaced in pain. The mage took Lhiannon's hand and breathed a spell. Lhiannon watched in stupefied amazement as the wounds on her wrists faded from an angry red to a slight pink. The cuts that covered them from her falls began to close. Astonished, she looked up at the mage and suddenly burst into tears, sobbing into her hands as the mage pulled her close.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves; brutalizing a young woman who can't help what she is," the mage continued as she held Lhiannon to her chest. The templars both snarled at her.

"She is an affront to the Maker and his Bride," the templar who brought her from her home snarled. "She has no place in the Maker's world."

The mage rolled her eyes derisively. "Oh, that again? Yes, mages are evil. Magic cannot be trusted. Magic must serve and never rule. Go back to your chantries and brag about how you subdued a young girl; I'm sure the other templars will be most impressed with your bravery." The mage turned, guiding Lhiannon gently up the stairs and into the tower, leaving the templars behind.

The mage kept a reassuring arm around Lhiannon's shoulders as she led her to the dormitories. "My name is Kyla," the mage said as she guided Lhiannon into the large room. Several rows of bunk beds lined the walls, large trunks at the foot of each set. Kyla guided Lhiannon to an empty bed and sat her down, turning to a large armoire and pulling pillows and blankets out and setting them on the bunk next to Lhiannon. She moved next to the small vanity near the bed, pulling several sets of robes out and picking one that looked to be Lhiannon's size. Small clothes followed close behind. Kyla then pulled a towel and a large bowl from the armoire, moving to a large basin nearby, filling it with water and setting it on the vanity. With a whisper, the mage heated the water until it steamed.

"I'm Lhiannon," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes with the heels of her hands and watching with rapt attention to the spell the mage weaved. "Will I be able to do _that_?"

"You certainly will," Kyla chuckled, setting the towel down next to the water before turning back to Lhiannon. "I know you're scared, Lhiannon," Kyla began, kneeling down in front of the teen. "But we will take good care of you. Mages look out for one another. We are family." Kyla smoothed Lhiannon's dark hair before rising to her feet. "I must tell the First Enchanter that you have arrived. Will you be all right here by yourself for a few minutes?"

Lhiannon looked at her, eyes wide with confusion. "Alone? But where are the other mages? Shouldn't I be, I don't know, evaluated or something?"

Kyla smiled, a gentle smile that Lhiannon found herself returning. "You will begin lessons in a few days, most likely. Once I tell the First Enchanter of your journey here, he may decide to have you wait a few days before you begin your lessons. While I talk to the First Enchanter, why don't you change and freshen up? Then I can show you about and take you to meet some apprentices your own age."

Lhiannon nodded and waited for Kyla to leave the dormitory before turning to the basin of water. It felt exquisite against her battered skin and Lhiannon watched the water begin to turn a sickly brown from all the dirt and dried blood she washed off her body. When she felt clean and human again, she donned the fresh small clothes and robe. Searching through the small vanity, she found a pair of cotton socks and moved to the bed to pull them on.

A commotion suddenly erupted in the hall, the sound of a door banging open and the pounding of feet on the floor. Lhiannon looked up to see a young male apprentice appear in the doorway, breathing heavily and glancing about the room, startled to see another person there. Lhiannon saw that he was about her own age, tall and lanky now but with a frame that promised a lithe body when he was fully grown. His hair was like spun gold and fell to his shoulders, thick, lush, and straight as an arrow. His eyes were nearly the same color, wide and casting about the room warily once again.

"Um, hide me?" he asked, his head whipping from side to side as he kept watch on the corridor.

"What?"

"_Hide me_," the apprentice said again, more urgency in his voice. "The templars are after me. They'll put me in solitary for sure if they find me."

Lhiannon stood from her bed, quickly looking about the room to see where the apprentice could hide. Her eyes finally rested on the trunk at the end of the bed. She quickly moved to it, yanking the top open and gesturing to the apprentice. "In here."

"In a trunk?" the young man exclaimed, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "But it's dark and, dusty, in there. It will ruin my new robes."

"The templars will do worse to your robes if they find you," Lhiannon hissed in a whisper, pointing emphatically at the trunk. "Now _get in_."

The young man moved forward, stepping into the trunk and lowering himself inside; it would be a tight fit, but would be just large enough to hide him. He looked up at Lhiannon as she began to shut the lid. "You're not going to forget me in here, are you? Leave me to die alone and in the dark?" He flinched as the sound of armored feet began to approach, the deep voices of templars filling the hall.

"Just put your head down and keep quiet," Lhiannon whispered as she lowered the lid, shutting the young man inside. She quietly stepped back to her bed, grabbing the sheets and placing them on top of the chest, straightening them out so they did not look like a haphazard mess. Picking up a pillowcase with shaking hands, she began to slide it onto her pillow as two hulking templars suddenly entered the room.

"You there," one of the men called out as the other templar began to cast his eyes about the room. Lhiannon noticed that he had removed one of his gauntlets and was rubbing an ear. "Have you seen a young man run through here?"

Lhiannon shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, placing the pillow on the bed as nonchalantly as possible. Her hands were shaking like mad and her heart threatened to thump its way out of her chest. Somehow, she had to convince the templars that the young man was not here; it would not be the best start for her if she found herself on the wrong side of the templars so soon. "I'm sorry, but no. I haven't seen anyone but Kyla. I just arrived here at…what is the name of this place?"

"Kinloch Hold," the templar said irritably, rolling his eyes at Lhiannon. "You're sure you didn't see anyone?"

"No. I just got here."

The templars scowled again, looking at each other one last time before turning to leave the room. Lhiannon heard them stomp down the hall and through a doorway at the other end. She waited for several moments, making sure they were truly gone before moving the sheets off the chest and opening it. The young man groaned as he stood, his joints crackling as he stretched himself out.

"You know, the templars are no fun," the young man said, stepping out of the trunk and giving her a swarthy grin. "I tried to tell them, all I want is a pretty girl and the right to shoot lightning at fools. Of course, the fool I shot lightning at was one of _them_. Can't take a joke, the whole bloody lot of them."

Lhiannon found herself grinning along with the young man. "No, templars are certainly not the joking type."

The mage took a step toward Lhiannon pointing to himself and bowing theatrically. "I, my good lady, am Anders."

"Lhiannon," she said, giggling as Anders reached forward and picked up her hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. He looked at her wrist and saw the healing red wounds there. He reached out for Lhiannon's other hand, looking at the matching injury. He closed his eyes and breathed a spell as he held her hands; Lhiannon watched as the wounds that Kyla tended to healed even more. Within seconds, the redness in her wrists was gone, the skin unmarred as if there were no injuries there in the first place. Lhiannon's eyes went wide as Anders opened his. He chuckled at her astonishment.

"Damned templars do that to you?" he asked, releasing her hands and leaning up against the posts of the bunk bed. He crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Lhiannon with concern.

"Yes," Lhiannon replied, her hands balling into fists at the mistreatment she had endured on the way to Kinloch Hold. "I _hate_ the templars." She looked up at Anders, who was watching her thoughtfully. Lhiannon raised a brow to him. "Why were they chasing you?"

Anders waved a hand in front of him. "Oh, Templar Galen was being snarky to one of the young ladies in the dining hall. He needed to learn a little respect, so I walked up behind him and gave him a little poke of lightning in his ear. While the young lady found it hysterical, sadly, Galen did not."

Lhiannon giggled at Anders, picturing him sneaking up behind the templar and zapping him in the ear. "Definitely no sense of humor."

Anders quickly stood, holding his arm out to Lhiannon. "Have you been given the tour? It really is quite exciting. 'On your left you will see a scowling templar. And look here, another grumpy templar to the right' You can't go anywhere here without tripping over a templar."

Lhiannon allowed Anders to weave her arm in his and lead her into the hall. After all the things she had lost in the last few days, she had finally found something that served to banish the darkness that had surrounded her.

A friend.

Fin

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_So I don't forget, Bioware owns all. I'm just a fan with an imagination._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


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